Released in 2008, “Iron Man” was the start of an unprecedented streak of success for Marvel Studios and its MCU. It notably allowed Robert Downey Jr. to become one of the highest paid actors in the world. However, on the set of the feature film, the American actor was very far from having the best salary on the set.
Iron Man : the entry point of a great superheroic adventure
In the mid-2000s, the Marvel team then on the verge of bankruptcy decided to try a big blow: produce superhero movies with their remaining licenses. Thus, movies Captain America, Thor, Hulk and Iron Man are started, with the ambition of being able to link and connect all these characters in a single universe.
In 2008, Iron Man is the first to open the ball. A risky bet when we know that at the same time, DC was guaranteed to hit the same year with a masked superhero and billionaire via The Dark Knight. The risk is all the greater since Tony Stark/Iron Man is played by Robert Downey Jr., a talented actor, but with an irregular career due to his many slippages and addictions.
Directed by Jon Favreau, Iron Man was therefore bound to succeed at the box office. The bet was highly successful since the feature film collected $585.1 million worldwide, for an estimated budget of 140 million. In addition, the critics were seduced by the film, and especially by the enormous performance of Robert Downey Jr.
The sequel, we know it: 2 other films Iron Man coming out, the project avengers which is set up, and a absolutely amazing era for the superhero genre in cinematill today.
Money in the bank
Although it is the first role of the film, Robert Downey Jr was, at the time, not the highest paid actor on the film set. Indeed, the actor “restarted” a new career, rid of his drug addiction. From then on, trusting him for such a blockbuster was a bet… at decent pay, however. Because for the actor, Marvel gave him an unexpected second chance.
Who was the highest paid actor on the set? Jeff Bridges or Gwyneth Paltrow? In fact, neither. According to Entertainment Weeklythe highest salary on Iron Man was none other than… Terrence Howard. The first actor to play the character of Jim Rhodes aka War Marchine in the MCU was thus paid 4.5 million dollars. This was due to the fact that Terrence Howard enjoyed an already established notoriety at the time. Two years before the release ofIron Manthe actor had indeed been nominated for the Oscar for Best Actor for Hustle & Flow. Suffice to say that Terrence Howard was in the thick of it, which justified his huge salary. For Robert Downey Jr., apart from his 0.02% percentage on revenue, his fee for the film was then $500,000.
Unfortunately, the adventure ended after Iron Man for Terrence Howard. The causes ? A story of big money as well as a mixed performance from the actor, according to Favreau and his producers. Thus, unsatisfied with Howard’s interpretation, the director and screenwriter Justin Theroux decided to reduce the importance of the character in Iron Man 2. Only, it also meant that the star’s salaryEmpire would be reduced. Something that the actor obviously refused. Howard was therefore replaced by Don Cheadle, who has played the character brilliantly for 12 years now.
Terrence Howard has another version
According to Terrence Howard, the truth about his replacement is quite different. Indeed, during the following years, he multiplied the declarations on several media, affirming in turn that Robert Downey Jr. had betrayed him and doubled to have a bigger salary than him. Or even that the production had wanted to reduce his salary, to rebalance the accounts with the star of the franchise. As he declared in 2013 at the microphone of Sway The Morning :
My salary for the first movie was $4.5 million. For the sequel, they said to me, “Whether you’re there or not, the film will work, so instead of 8 million, you’ll get 1 million for the second opus”. We had signed for three films, so there were no negotiations as such. I didn’t know that the contract only went one way and that they could do the rest without me. They could keep the deal. Or not. (…) My worst experience? “Iron Man” is ruining my career. Finally they tried.
Suffice to say that there is little chance that Terrence Howard and Marvel will work together again.
